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Hands Occupied

Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

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Peppermint Party

December 19, 2012 Leave a Comment

Peppermint Party | HandsOccupied.com

I have been wanting to try my hand at a party theme post for a few months now and finally got up the guts to try it this week. Why peppermint? It’s pretty simple actually. My mom and I are both huge mint fans in general, and as I started sketching out a bunch of ideas for holiday parties, I just kept coming back and back and back to peppermint.

DIY & Decor

The streamers are red & white crepe paper twisted to look like peppermint. I made the pinwheels out of candy striped scrapbooking paper (grab the tutorial here), and I used wooden skewers and styrofoam balls hacksawed in half to display them, Candy Land-style on my table. As you can see, I also used a bag of peppermint candies to decorate my otherwise-bare tablescape.

The Food

Being a person with some blood sugar issues, I always have some kind of non-sugary snack at all parties I host. Usually, I just put out a bowl of nuts, but for this party, I had peppers on the brain. I made some hors d’oeurves with water crackers, cream cheese, and pepper slices arranged to look like peppermint swirl candies.

Peppermint Party | HandsOccupied.com

Drinks

I tried to come up with a tasty peppermint schnapps cocktail, but I realized I simply don’t like the kind of medicinal taste it makes me think of. My husband, in an effort to avoid trying my tenth attempt at a peppermint schnapps cocktail, pitched in on this one, making some peppermint tea syrup and designing a custom cocktail around it for my mini party. Here’s how he made the peppermint tea syrup, in his own words:

Make some tea. Put it in a [cooking] pot. Add one cup of sugar for each cup of tea. Put it on the burner until all the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally to help the sugar blend. And that’s it.

Peppermint Party | HandsOccupied.com

Husband’s Custom Cocktail: The Candy Striper

ice

1 oz. peppermint tea syrup

1 oz. vodka

top with club soda

The peppermint tea syrup is quite sweet, so make sure to have plenty of club soda on hand to balance it out.

Peppermint Party | HandsOccupied.com

Desserts

What’s a holiday peppermint party without old school peppermint ice cream? To save time on the day of the party, I filled mini jelly jars with individual servings of peppermint ice cream and decorated each jar with red and white bakers twine the day before. This is probably my favorite idea from the whole shindig, imho.

Peppermint Party | HandsOccupied.com

I’m not the biggest fan of disposable dishware, so I opted to use the spoons I had on hand laid out next to the ice cream.
Peppermint Party | HandsOccupied.com

And I did end up putting my little fifth of peppermint schnapps to tasty use after all. Remember the peppermint schnapps swirl cupcakes from last week? I barely do, because husband and I ate them all in almost no time after I captured the pictures of this party. It turns out peppermint schnapps is best used as a peppermint extract alternative. Click here for the cupcake recipe, and here for info on substituting peppermint schnapps for peppermint extract.

Peppermint Schnapps Swirl Cupcakes | HandsOccupied.com

Filed Under: Christmas, Parties Tagged With: cocktail, cupcake, holiday, hors doeurves, ice cream, party, peppermint, peppermint tea syrup, recipes, snack table, swirl

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author, designer & creator specializing in yarn crafts like knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), a craft book author & pattern designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. Really anything with yarn! ❤️  My work combines vintage and modern design elements, featuring bold colors and graphic motifs.

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handsoccupied

Craft book author, designer & creator specializing in yarn crafts like knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé
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Nobody panic. This is just the back of an (admitte Nobody panic. This is just the back of an (admittedly insane) intarsia project. One day, this will be a seamed sweater, but today is not that day. 🧶 
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Have a good weekend, everyone! 
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Yarn: @universal_yarn’s Fibra Natura Cobblestone in Antarctica & Dragon’s Breath 
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#handsoccupied #intarsia #intarsiaknitting #wip #knitting
Here’s how to work a Norwegian purl stitch for e Here’s how to work a Norwegian purl stitch for easier continental style knitting. With this purling method, the working yarn says tensioned (held) at the back of your knitting at all times. For many knitters, always holding the yarn at the back helps with tension issues, as well as feeling a little more comfortable. 
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Have you ever encountered this style of purling before? If you’ve tried it, have you found it helps with your purl tension and knitting speed? I’m curious.
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For a written tutorial, visit handsoccupied-dot-com. For video, you guessed it, You2be. Both of these platforms allow for longer, more in-depth versions of this tutorial, including full transcripts, alt text & the ability to pause, slow down or speed up at will. (Like if you really want to learn this, I recommend using a platform that doesn’t keep your hands occupied. Thinking of putting this in all my captions these days tbh - shout out to you if you made it this far. 🙌🏻😂)
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#handsoccupied #learntoknit #continentalknitting #howtoknit #norwegianpurl #norwegianknitting #knit #knitting #knitter #knittersofinstagram #knittinghack  #handknitting #handknit #norwegianpurling
Have you ever tried this style of purl? . All thi Have you ever tried this style of purl? 
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All this recent talk about throwing vs. continental style knitting made it clear many people struggle with purling in continental knitting. Turns out that Norway may have the answer! In Norwegian purling, the working yarn stays tensioned at the back at all times, helping with speed and tension. 🤯
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Head to the bl0g (🔗 in bi0) for a more in-depth look at how to work a Norwegian purl stitch, including a photo tutorial with animated GIF & a video tutorial. Wrapping your mind around how to work a stitch you’re familiar with in a totally new way can be confusing, so I tried to give a few options for clarity. 🤙🏻 Video is also on You2be. 
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#handsoccupied #norwegianpurl #norwegianknitting #norwegianpurling #continentalknitting #howtoknit #learntoknit #knitterofinstagram #knitters
It’s been a hot second since I showed my face or It’s been a hot second since I showed my face or reintroduced myself, so here goes! I’m Heidi Gustad, a craft book author, pattern designer, and tutorial creator who specializes in yarn crafts. Lately, I’ve been focused on releasing quality knitting videos and related blog posts to help teach things like the difference between provisional cast ons and how to fix common knitting mistakes. Next week I’m shooting requested crochet and latch hook videos, so h👀kers, your time is coming! And if you ever have tutorial requests, please let me know. ☺️
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TLDR: I’m Heidi. I design & teach yarn crafts. You can find tutorials on my blog (est. 2010) & You2be. I also have several knitting & crochet patterns + a book about latch hook available. / All of these can be found on my website, the 🔗 is where you’d think. 
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#handsoccupied #fridayintroduction #heidigustad #knitting #knitter #knittersofinstagram #yarncrafts #latchhookbook
Are you a picker or a thrower? Do you knit Contine Are you a picker or a thrower? Do you knit Continental or English Style? Here’s a quick overview of the differences between the two most common knitting styles, including a side by side comparison. (A good one to save for future reference. 👍🏻) 
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There’s more on the differences between picking and throwing in my latest blog post & You 2ube video - the l1nk is where you’d think!
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#handsoccupied #learntoknit #knittingstyles #howtoknit #knittersofinstagram #knitter
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